Game 16: Detroit at Tampa Bay

This is the Tampa Bay Lightning team I think we all want to watch. Sure, there was that lapse during the second period. And sure, they gave Detroit back-to-back 5-on-3's which let them back into the game. And, sure, they lost 4-3. But that almost - almost - doesn't even matter. They came out to play, and that was a great thing to see.

This game mattered to the players. They wanted to win, and they wanted to work hard for that. Hopefully, they don't only play this way at home and against the better teams in the league.

Recchi was fantastic. He was the best player out there. St. Louis was great defensively. Ranger and Meszaros played like 30-year-old veteran defensemen. Kolzig was the spark that gave the team the energy to try for that comeback in the third when he argued with the officials about their non-calls in front of the net. Lecavalier's split lip at the end of the game just underlined the effort that they gave. That is how you play hockey.

The second period they seemed a little lost - or a little tired. And that's when they took most of their penalties - mostly the forwards this time. And puck possession wasn't exactly the best for most of the game either. Shots, well, near 40 allowed and near 20 taken. They'd been doing well with the faceoffs until the third period.

Lecavalier looked much more comfortable covering for the defense and skating backwards. I honestly think he's almost as good a defenseman as he is a forward. Not that any coach in his right might would play him anywhere but center, tho. Vinny has a couple of weak spots in his game, but nobody's perfect. Just shows that he's human is all. St. Louis could work on his backward skating, but at least he makes the effort - which is more than most forwards can say.

I happen to like well-rounded players, okay? Defensemen who jump into offensive plays aren't all that unusual. But forwards who can competently play like defensemen are.

The Lightning need to try to play like this more often. With passion, intelligence, and intensity. We'll ignore the second period for now, and concentrate on the fact that they actually played for each other. Now they just need to stop with the long passes and go with the more accurate short passes. That would definitely help them thru the neutral zone, as well as the offensive zone.

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